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Theater Listings for Feb. 15-21

Approximate running times are in parentheses. Theaters are in Manhattan unless otherwise noted. Full reviews of current productions, additional listings, showtimes and ticket information are at nytimes.com/theater. A searchable, critical guide to theater is at nytimes.com/events.

Previews and Openings

‘Ann’ (previews start on Monday; opens on March 7) Not many people could play both Nancy Reagan and Ann Richards, but Holland Taylor is not most people. Long before she cornered the market on feisty WASPdom on television shows like “Two and a Half Men” and “The Practice,” Ms. Taylor was racking up theater credits in shows like “Butley” and “The Cocktail Hour.” (And, yes, “Moose Murders.”) Now she returns to Broadway in a one-woman tribute (which she also wrote) to the larger-than-life former governor of Texas, who, when she was the state treasurer of Texas, had some choice comments for Mrs. Reagan’s husband in her keynote address at the 1988 Democratic National Convention. Vivian Beaumont Theater, Lincoln Center, (212) 239-6200, lct.org. (Eric Grode)

‘Belleville’ (in previews; opens on March 3) Amy Herzog’s plays continue to take on darker shadows, as family-focused works like “After the Revolution” and “4000 Miles” give way to “The Great God Pan,” which looked at repressed childhood memories, and now this examination of a fraying American couple in Paris. Maria Dizzia and Greg Keller return to the roles the originated at Yale Repertory Theater in 2011, when Charles Isherwood, in his review for The New York Times, called it “a thrillingly good play.” It is directed, as it was in 2011, by Anne Kauffman, who does creepy naturalism better than just about anyone (“The Thugs,” “Maple and Vine”). New York Theater Workshop, 79 East Fourth Street, East Village, (212) 279-4200, nytw.org. (Grode)

‘The Dance and the Railroad’ (in previews; opens on Feb. 25) Each Signature Theater season typically features at least one relative obscurity by the honored playwright, and this year’s David Henry Hwang season is no exception. This 1981 play, which was only Mr. Hwang’s second, uses the conventions of Chinese opera to illuminate the story of two Chinese immigrant workers in the California mountains during the building of the Transcontinental Railroad. Signature Center, 480 West 42nd Street, Clinton, (212) 244-7529, signaturetheatre.org. (Grode)

‘Donnybrook!’ (in previews; opens on Sunday) The lyricist Johnny Burke is best known for his longstanding relationship with Paramount Pictures, including more than two dozen Bing Crosby films, but he also contributed the music as well as lyrics to this short-lived 1961 Broadway musical. Its source material — the classic John Ford film “The Quiet Man,” featuring John Wayne as an Irish-American boxer who returns to the old sod — makes it a natural property for Irish Repertory Theater, which has enlivened similarly forgotten musicals like “Take Me Along” and “New Girl in Town.” Irish Repertory Theater, 132 West 22nd Street, Chelsea, (212) 727-2737, irishrep.org. (Grode)

‘The Flick’ (previews start on Friday; opens on March 12) Underpaid young workers in small-town New England certainly paid off for Annie Baker and her frequent director, Sam Gold, in 2010 with their critical smash “The Aliens.” Now the formidable duo, who also collaborated on “Circle Mirror Transformation” and Ms. Baker’s “Uncle Vanya” translation, have turned their attention to three undermotivated employees of a rundown Massachusetts movie theater. The news release promises “tiny battles and not-so-tiny heartbreaks”; the track record promises a good bit more than that. Playwrights Horizons, 416 West 42nd Street, Clinton, (212) 279-4200, ticketcentral.com. (Grode)

‘Frigid New York’ (opens on Wednesday) For those Fringe Festival fans who wish they didn’t have to choose from so many options (or walk so much), this 30-show mini-festival takes over three East Village theaters for 12 days. Your guess is as good as ours, but titles like “Serving Bait to Rich People” (a sushi waitress’s tell-all) and “A Panda Suit, Pythagoras and Plenty of Puns” (presumably self-explanatory) are bound to get noticed. Kraine Theater and the Red Room, 85 East Fourth Street, East Village; Under St. Mark’s, 94 St. Marks Place, at First Avenue, East Village, (212) 868-4444, frigidnewyork.info. (Grode)

‘Hamlet’ (in previews; opens on Sunday) The sight of four actors giving thrilling life to Shaw’s “Saint Joan” was an unexpected delight of the 2012 theater season. Those same four actors (Andrus Nichols, Tom O’Keefe, Ted Lewis and Eric Tucker) are back, and this time they’re climbing an even steeper mountain. Mr. Tucker once again directs, as if he doesn’t have enough to worry about. (“Saint Joan” joins it in repertory starting March 6.) Access Theater, 380 Broadway, at White Street, TriBeCa, (866) 811-4111, theatrebedlam.org. (Grode)

‘Henry IV, Part 1’ (previews start on Friday; opens on March 3) Following the Pearl Theater’s last show, the one-man “In Acting Shakespeare,” comes a more straightforward take on the playwright. (“Henry V” is scheduled for next season.) Shakespeare is old hat for the Pearl cast by now, but the choice of director is an intriguing one: Davis McCallum. He has earned a sterling reputation for directing new plays, most recently “Water by the Spoonful” and “The Whale,” but the classics are a relatively uncharted territory for him. Pearl Theater, 555 West 42nd Street, Clinton, (212) 563-9261, pearltheatre.org. (Grode)

‘Hit the Wall’ (previews start on Tuesday; opens on March 10) The West Village is rich with cultural milestones, and one of the biggest came on June 28, 1969. That’s when a police raid on the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar, exploded into a days-long riot that would serve as a catalyst for the gay rights movement. Ike Holter’s new play, which made its debut last year as part of Steppenwolf’s Garage Rep series, blends history and mythology as it puts audiences on the periphery of that epochal conflict. Barrow Street Theater, 27 Barrow Street, at Seventh Avenue South, West Village, (212) 868-4444, smarttix.com. (Grode)

‘Jesus in India’ (in previews; opens on Thursday) What would Jesus do if he found himself in modern-day Indo-Mathura, an area teeming with spiritual innovation and (according the news release) really good marijuana? Lloyd Suh (“American Hwangap”) tries to answer that question in this contemporary parable, which presents Jesus as a teenager traveling on the back of a camel with his pal Abigail of Galilee. Theater at St. Clement’s, 423 West 46th Street, Clinton, (212) 352-3101, ma-yitheatre.org. (Grode)

‘Katie Roche’ (in previews; opens on Feb. 25) To the extent that New York theatergoers know anything about the 20th-century Irish playwright Teresa Deevy, it is because of the Mint Theater. The enterprising theater, which is also publishing two volumes of her writings, wraps up its three-play Deevy retrospective with this 1936 drama about a wildly ambitious servant girl. The Abbey Theater brought it to America in 1937, but this is the first American production. The Mint’s artistic director, Jonathan Bank, directs once again. 311 West 43rd Street, Clinton, (866) 811-4111, minttheater.org. (Grode)

‘The Lying Lesson’ (previews start on Wednesday; opens on March 13) Craig Lucas likes to play with shifting identities, as he did via the chat-room shenanigans in “The Dying Gaul” and the body swapping of “Prelude to a Kiss.” Here the playwright has created a woman (played by Carol Kane) who may or may not be Bette Davis. Her seemingly clueless young assistant is quickly embroiled in a series of cat-and-mouse games — a form of theatrical combat in which the director, Pam MacKinnon (“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”), has become an expert. Linda Gross Theater, 336 West 20th Street, Chelsea, (212) 279-4200, atlantictheater.org. (Grode)

‘The Madrid’ (in previews; opens on Feb. 26) When a kindergarten teacher one day gets up and walks out of work, she leaves in the lurch not only a batch of blinking 5-year-olds but also a loving husband and a daughter. Liz Flahive makes her return to Manhattan Theater Club, which presented her domestic drama “From Up Here” in 2008, with this new work and Edie Falco in tow. Leigh Silverman, who directed “From Up Here” and has a way with plays about troublesome parents (“Well,” “Coraline”), teams up with Ms. Flahive again here. City Center Stage I, 131 West 55th Street, Manhattan, (212) 581-1212, nycitycenter.org. (Grode)

‘Much Ado About Nothing’ (in previews; opens on Sunday) Fans of no-frills, shrewdly conceived, elegantly presented Shakespeare have learned to circle their calendars for Arin Arbus’s annual Theater for a New Audience productions. This one, her fifth in as many years, features a love-hate relationship not unlike that in last year’s “Taming of the Shrew,” and Ms. Arbus once again has Maggie Siff (“Sons of Anarchy”) to represent the female half of the equation. Playing Benedick opposite Ms. Siff’s Beatrice is the British classical actor Jonathan Cake. The Duke on 42nd Street, 229 West 42nd Street, (646) 223-3010, dukeon42.org. (Grode)

‘The North Pool’ (in previews; opens on March 6) After several well-received Off Broadway plays, Rajiv Joseph hit the big time in 2011 when Robin Williams starred in his “Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo” on Broadway. Now Mr. Joseph heads back downtown with this psychological thriller about a game of cat and mouse conducted between a high school principal and a transfer student from the Middle East. Giovanna Sardelli, who has directed nearly all of Mr. Joseph’s other Off Broadway pieces, does the same here. Vineyard Theater, 108 East 15th Street, Manhattan, (212) 353-0303, vineyardtheatre.org. (Grode)

‘The Old Boy’ (in previews; opens on March 5) Playwrights as prolific as A.R. Gurney tend not to pick favorites among their works. Who can remember them all? That said, Mr. Gurney has referred to this 1991 play, about a politician who confronts some unexpected demons when he returns to his New England prep school, as “a favorite but somewhat neglected child.” Enter the Keen Company to bestow a little attention. Mr. Gurney has also done a bit of revisiting, as the script is being billed as “newly revised.” Clurman Theater at Theater Row, 410 West 42nd Street, Clinton, (212) 239-6200, telecharge.com. (Grode)

‘Old Hats’ (in previews; opens on March 4) There are few details about this piece, but here’s all you really need to know: Bill Irwin and David Shiner are together again. The duo created stage magic in various iterations of the uproarious “Fool Moon,” and now they and their director, Tina Landau, promise more of the same: mime, magic, music (courtesy of Nellie McKay) and mayhem. Mr. Irwin’s more recent stage performances have included convincing takes on Albee, Shakespeare and even Beckett, but he still presumably has a good pratfall or three left in him. Signature Center, 480 West 42nd Street, Clinton, (212) 244-7529, signaturetheatre.org. (Grode)

‘Passion’ (in previews; opens on Feb. 28) With the recent glut of Stephen Sondheim revivals, revues and tributes, you may have forgotten that the last time a new Sondheim show had its debut on Broadway was in 1994. That’s when his and James Lapine’s haunting chamber musical about love and obsession opened, only to close after eight months. A revival is long overdue, and the director John Doyle (this time dispensing with his usual actors-doubling-as-musicians tactic) has cast two formidable women who have also been much missed on the New York stage, Melissa Errico and Judy Kuhn. Ryan Silverman rounds out the central love triangle. Classic Stage Company, 136 East 13th Street, East Village, (866) 811-4111, classicstage.org. (Grode)

‘Really Really’ (in previews; opens on Tuesday) The premise of this new work sounds less than groundbreaking: College pals turn on one another after a boozy party. But Paul Downs Colaizzo’s play has plenty going for it, including a good track record (it was a smash for the Signature Theater in Washington last year), TV darlings in the cast (Zosia Mamet of “Girls,” Matt Lauria of “Friday Night Lights”) and, most intriguing, the infinitely resourceful director David Cromer (“Tribes,” “Our Town”). Lucille Lortel Theater, 121 Christopher Street, West Village, (212) 352-3101, mcctheater.org. (Grode)

‘The Revisionist’ (previews start on Friday; opens on Feb. 28) Typically, Michael Chernus or maybe Seth Numrich qualifies as a marquee name at a Rattlestick Playwrights Theater show. Enter Jesse Eisenberg and Vanessa Redgrave, who make up two-thirds of the cast of Mr. Eisenberg’s new play. (His previous work for the stage, “Asuncion,” was also a Rattlestick production.) Here he plays a man with terrible writer’s block; she plays a Holocaust survivor (and his second cousin) who has a few complicating secrets about the family’s past. Daniel Oreskes also stars. Cherry Lane Theater, 38 Commerce Street, West Village, (866) 811-4111, rattlestick.org. (Grode)

‘Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella’ (in previews; opens on March 3) The 1957 television musical of “Cinderella” was a runaway smash and almost immediately began spawning stage incarnations, starring Eartha Kitt, Everett Quinton and Jean Stapleton (though they weren’t cast in the title role). But this staging is the property’s first appearance on Broadway, complete with a new book by Douglas Carter Beane (“Sister Act,” “The Little Dog Laughed”) and four fairly obscure songs from the Rodgers and Hammerstein catalog. Laura Osnes stars as Cinderella, and she is surrounded by three formidable scene stealers: Harriet Harris, Victoria Clark and Ann Harada. Broadway Theater, 1681 Broadway, at 53rd Street, (212) 239-6200, telecharge.com. (Grode)

‘Talley’s Folly’ (in previews; opens on March 5) Two years after his death, Lanford Wilson is beginning to receive his due on New York stages. The Signature’s revival of his “Mound Builders” opens in a few weeks, but first comes Mr. Wilson’s 1980 Pulitzer Prize winner, a wistful 1940s romance between a Jewish immigrant (Danny Burstein) and a Protestant nurse (Sarah Paulson) in rural Missouri. Laura Pels Theater, Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theater, 111 West 46th Street, (212) 719-1300, roundabouttheatre.org. (Grode)

Broadway

‘Annie’ James Lapine’s revival of the singing comic strip from 1977 is merely serviceable. But its smiley-faced mixture of hope and corn scratches an itch in a city recovering from a recession and a hurricane. Theatergoers may feel the urge both to mist up and throw up, but Lilla Crawford is a nigh irresistible Orphan Annie. With Katie Finneran and Anthony Warlow (2:25). Palace Theater, 1564 Broadway, at 47th Street, (877) 250-2929, ticketmaster.com. (Ben Brantley)

‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’ A four-alarm urgency infuses Scarlett Johansson’s performance in Rob Ashford’s oxygen-starved revival of Tennessee Williams’s 1955 drama of sex and lies. If Ms. Johansson is oddly un-feline as Maggie the Cat, she sure has presence. The rest of the cast, including Benjamin Walker and Ciaran Hinds, gets lost in the heavy atmospherics (2:40). Richard Rodgers Theater, 226 West 46th Street, (800) 745-3000, ticketmaster.com. (Brantley)

★ ‘The Mystery of Edwin Drood’ A boisterous, well-cast revival of Rupert Holmes’s Tony-winning 1986 musical, which gives the audience the chance to choose the identity of the killer of the titular hero. Chita Rivera lends an air of authentic glamour, Jim Norton is a cutup as the music-hall proprietor, and the young cast sings the lovely score with great skill (2:35). Studio 54, 254 West 54th Street, roundabouttheatre.org, (212) 719-1300. (Charles Isherwood)

‘Nice Work if You Can Get It’ Every now and then a bubble of pure, tickling charm rises from the artificial froth of this pastiche 1920s musical, directed by Kathleen Marshall and featuring songs by George and Ira Gershwin. But mostly the production, starring Matthew Broderick and Kelli O’Hara, registers as a shiny, dutiful trickle of gags and production numbers (2:30). Imperial Theater, 249 West 45th Street, (212) 239-6200, telecharge.com. (Brantley)

★ ‘Once’ This gentle musical, set in Dublin, about a love affair that never quite happens — based on the 2006 movie — inventively uses songs (by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova) and dance to convey a beautiful shimmer of might-have-been regret. Staged by John Tiffany and Steven Hoggett (“Black Watch”), the production stars the immensely appealing Steve Kazee and Cristin Milioti (2:15). Bernard B. Jacobs Theater, 242 West 45th Street, (212) 239-6200, telecharge.com. (Brantley)

★ ‘All in the Timing’ One of the zestier plates of theatrical tapas to be had. This 20th-anniversary production of David Ives’s popular anthology of mini-plays, directed by John Rando, leaves you feeling lighter, but not emptier. There’s nutrition in these sketches about (gulp!) relativity and randomness, and surprising substance in their silliness. Carson Elrod leads a bouncy cast (1:45). 59E59 Theaters, 59 East 59th Street, (212) 279-4200, primarystages.org. (Brantley)

‘All the Rage’ In Martin Moran’s artfully rambling one-man show about anger (expressed and sublimated), the map of self-discovery is part of no known GPS program. Mr. Moran, directed by Seth Barrish, is very much his own tour guide, in a chatty but soulful show that leads you into thought-and-emotion-stirring territory not often visited at the theater (1:20). Peter Jay Sharp Theater, 416 West 42nd Street, (212) 279-4200, ticketcentral.com. (Brantley)

‘Bunnicula: A Rabbit Tale of Musical Mystery’ Charles Busch livens up this fun adaptation of the kid’s novel about a family enduring some turmoil after adopting a rabbit that may be a vampire (1:05). DR2 Theater, 103 East 15th Street, Manhattan, (212) 239-6200, dr2theatre.com. (Jason Zinoman)

‘Clive’ Jonathan Marc Sherman’s adaptation of “Baal,” an early Brecht play about a poète maudit, has the potential to electrify. But the current that flows through this version, directed by and starring Ethan Hawke, is oddly sluggish. Brecht’s tale of a degenerate society assumes the air of a wearily confirmed prophecy. Vincent D’Onofrio, a great wild-card actor, provides some electricity (1:45). Acorn Theater at Theater Row, 410 West 42nd Street, Clinton, (212) 239-6200, telecharge.com. (Brantley)

‘Cougar the Musical’ Three older women find themselves attracted to younger men, two against their better judgment. The concept seems made for bus tours, but imagination, appealing numbers with original melodies and theme-transcending jokes lift this show well above the level of “Menopause: The Musical” and its ilk (1:30). St. Luke’s Theater, 308 West 46th Street, Clinton, (212) 239-6200, telecharge.com. (Anita Gates)

‘FoodActs’ A seven-person cast performs excerpts from nontraditional texts touching on various sweet and savory food-related themes: deprivation, salivation and satiation, and the many ways in which eating intersects with so many important moments of our lives. Some of the prose is enchanting and evocative, like Proust’s meditation on the connection between taste and involuntary memory. But with more than 27 texts and dozens of epigraphs, the show has more courses than the tasting menu at Alinea, and is much less gratifying (1:45). The Lion Theater, 410 West 42nd Street, Clinton, (212) 239-6200, foodacts.com. (Catherine Rampell)

★ ‘Forbidden Broadway: Alive and Kicking’ Gerard Alessandrini’s essential satirical cheat sheet to Broadway musicals returns after a three-year absence, packing polished brass knuckles. A precisionist cast of four provides vocal cartoons as evocative as Al Hirschfeld’s caricatures. This show not only tickles but also pierces the Achilles’ heels of the productions under scrutiny (1:40). At the 47th Street Theater, 304 West 47th Street, Clinton, (212) 239-6200, telecharge.com. (Brantley)

‘Forever Dusty’ If Kristen Holly Smith turned up to your costume party in Dusty Springfield drag and started singing, there would be no mistaking the woman she was channeling. But doing a passable impersonation is a far cry from capturing the essence of one of the most distinctive female vocalists of all time, as this amateurish inflated cabaret act demonstrates. Written in by-the-numbers basics by Ms. Smith and Jonathan Vankin, and directed with minimal finesse by Randal Myler, this misconceived bio-musical is a soulless tribute to the platinum-haired, panda-eyed queen of white soul. She deserves better (1:40). New World Stages, 340 West 50th Street, Clinton, (212) 239-6200, foreverdusty.net. (David Rooney)

Photo

A scene from the Broadway revival of "Picnic" with Sebastian Stan and Maggie Grace, foreground; in the background are Ellen Burstyn and Reed Birney.Credit
Joshua Bright for The New York Times

★ ‘Fried Chicken and Latkes’ Rain Pryor, the daughter of the comedian Richard Pryor (who died in 2005), stars in this effervescent solo show, which recounts her upbringing in a biracial household (her mother is Jewish) in Beverly Hills, Calif. Ms. Pryor, who sings and portrays a range of characters (including, poignantly, her father in a spot-on impression) is an ebullient performer with a robust singing voice. She lives in Baltimore now, but her outsize personality is built for Broadway (1:30). Actor’s Temple Theater, 339 West 47th Street, Clinton, (212) 239-6200, telecharge.com. (Andy Webster)

‘Love in the Time of Cholera’ Directed by José Zayas and performed by an efficient four-actor crew, Caridad Svich’s adaptation of the Gabriel García Márquez novel is pleasing but lightweight. A production cannot live on romance alone. In Spanish with subtitles (2:00). Gramercy Arts Theater, 138 East 27th Street, Manhattan, (212) 889-2850, repertorio.org. (Claudia La Rocco)

‘Luck of the Irish’ Kirsten Greenidge’s play, about race, class and real estate, is set in the 1950s and the 2000s. The plot turns on the disputed possession of a house in a lush Boston suburb. Thoughtful but diffuse (2:10). Claire Tow Theater, Lincoln Center, 150 West 65th Street, (212) 239-6200, telecharge.com, lct3.org. (Isherwood)

‘The Mark of Zorro’ How can you lure children raised on computer-generated imagery and high-tech special effects to a swashbuckling adventure with only three actors, a few props and dozens of plastic cutouts? You’d need clever design, highly skilled performers and plenty of fancy footwork. That’s mostly what you get in this adaptation of the tale of the masked justice-seeker Zorro, performed by Visible Fictions, a Scottish troupe. The story’s violence may give some parents pause, but in pure inventiveness, the show is a triumph (1:05). New Victory Theater, 209 West 42nd Street, (646) 223-3010, newvictory.org. (Laurel Graeber)

‘My Name Is Asher Lev’ Aaron Posner’s adaptation of Chaim Potok’s novel feels like a well-made play from the era in which the story takes place — the 1950s. Set in a Hasidic community in Brooklyn, this tale of an artistic prodigy has been directed with an attention to emotional nuance by Gordon Edelstein and features strong performances from its three-person cast: Ari Brand, Mark Nelson and Jenny Bacon (1:30). Westside Theater/Upstairs, 407 West 43rd Street, Clinton, (212) 239-6200, telecharge.com. (Rachel Saltz)

‘Women of Will’ Mixing casually delivered scholarly exposition with intensely rendered performance, this impassioned exploration of Shakespeare’s heroines by Tina Packer traces their evolution through their language. When Ms. Packer and her co-star, Nigel Gore, get down to the business of acting, it’s not just poetry in motion, it’s thought made flesh. Eric Tucker directs (2:30). Gym at Judson, Judson Memorial Church, 55 Washington Square South, Greenwich Village, (866) 811-4111, judson.org/The-Gym. (Brantley)

Off Off Broadway

★ ‘Good Person of Szechwan’ The Foundry Theater’s utterly splendid production of Bertolt Brecht’s seriocomic fable about the difficulty of doing good in a corrupt world stars the magnetic Taylor Mac as the prostitute turned shopkeeper Shen Te. Lisa Kron supplies ample humor in two supporting roles, and the sensational bluesy-folksy score is by César Alvarez and the Lisps. Lear deBessonet directs (2:30). La MaMa Ellen Stewart Theater, 66 East Fourth Street, East Village, (212) 475-7710, thefoundrytheatre.org. (Isherwood)

‘Here We Are’ Like many Living Theater productions, this experimental, participatory performance is part examination of historical anarchist movements, part indictment of the current sociopolitical order and part team-building love-in. It would be easy to be cynical about the chanting, hugging, dancing and sandal-making (yes, sandal-making) of this loosely structured performance. But it’s also easy to get caught up in the dramatic drum circle (1:15). Living Theater, 21 Clinton Street, near Houston Street, Lower East Side, (866) 811-4111, livingtheatre.org. (Rampell)

★ ‘Patti Issues’ In his funny, tender coming-of-age monologue, Ben Rimalower traces the obsessive Patti LuPone fandom that provided him with an empowering role model. That inspiration proved perhaps most useful to Mr. Rimalower in processing the fallout after his father kicked down the closet door and bailed on the family. While on one hand, this is the story of many young gay men’s propensity for diva worship, the tartly observed show goes several steps further by exploring the wide-eyed experiences that result when the acolyte gets to interact with his idol (1:00). Duplex Cabaret Theater, 61 Christopher Street, at Seventh Avenue, Greenwich Village, pattiissues.brownpapertickets.com. (Rooney)

‘The Berenstain Bears Live! In Family Matters, the Musical’ This adaptation of three of Stan and Jan Berenstain’s children’s books is pleasant enough, but the cubs are showing their age. Saturday and Sunday only (:55). Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater, 5 West 63rd Street, (866) 811-4111, berenstainbearslive.com.

‘En el Tiempo de las Mariposas’ Caridad Svich’s Spanish-language adaptation of Julia Álvarez’s novel (“In the Time of the Butterflies”) about the Mirabal sisters, who opposed the Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo and died as a result (2:00). Repertorio Español at Gramercy Arts Theater, 138 East 27th Street, (212) 225-9999, repertorio.org/mariposas.

‘Silence! The Musical’ An “unauthorized parody” of the grisly movie with the Hannibal Lecter character crooning noxious songs and a hilarious sendup of Jodie Foster’s intense Clarice Starling. Not as funny as it needs to be (1:30). Elektra Theater, 674 Eighth Avenue, at 42nd Street, (212) 352-3101, silencethemusical.com.

‘Airswimming’ (closes on Sunday) Charlotte Jones’s story of two single women sent to a hospital for the criminally insane in 1924 because they had babies is not about the outrage at their treatment but about the sisterhood they build that helps them endure. Modestly staged, impressively acted, poignant, intelligent and at times wickedly funny (1:15). Irish Repertory Theater, 132 West 22nd Street, Chelsea, (212) 727-2737, irishrep.org. (Gates)

★ ‘Bethany’ (closes on Sunday) A single mother (the terrific America Ferrera) fights to win back custody of her child — lost to foster care when she became homeless — in Laura Marks’s smart, compassionate play, featuring a fine supporting cast and sensitive direction by Gaye Taylor Upchurch (1:30). City Center Stage II, 131 West 55th Street, (212) 581-1212, nycitycenter.org. (Isherwood)

‘Collision’ (closes on Sunday) Taken as a fast, creepy exercise in suspense, Lyle Kessler’s play about a college roommate from hell might be reasonably diverting. But as David Fofi’s production for the Amoralists company sprints and staggers toward an apocalyptic conclusion, it doesn’t sustain the scrutiny invited by its too-topical plot (imagine “Leopold and Loeb with automatic weapons”) (1:40). Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, 224 Waverly Place, at 11th Street, Greenwich Village, (866) 811-4111, collisiontheplay.com. (Brantley)

‘The House of Von Macramé’ (closes on Saturday) A flamboyantly gory musical spoof of slasher movies, set in the fashion world, where everyone is either wearing or wielding a stiletto (metaphorically speaking). Delicious performances abound, and Matt Marks’s songs are fun, but Joshua Conkel’s script could stand to lose a few inches off the hemline (2:15). Bushwick Starr, 207 Starr Street, between Irving and Wyckoff Avenues, Brooklyn, (800) 836-3006, thebushwickstarr.org. (Isherwood)

‘This Clement World’ (closes on Sunday) The idiosyncratic writer-singer-songwriter Cynthia Hopkins muses on the evils of climate change in her new show, which may bring no news to environmentally minded theatergoers, but features a terrific song score and some gorgeous video of her three-week sojourn in the Arctic (1:10). St. Ann’s Warehouse, 29 Jay Street, at Plymouth Street, Dumbo, Brooklyn, (718) 254-8779, stannswarehouse.org. (Isherwood)

‘Working on a Special Day’ (closes on Sunday) This two-hander, directed and performed by Ana Graham and Antonio Vega, adapts Ettore Scola’s 1977 film “A Special Day” for the stage. With the humblest of means — chalk drawings, a few props — the actors create a world, a refuge for two, playfully reminding us that theater is a place for make believe and that imagination can be a bulwark against oppression (1:15). 59E59 Theaters, 59 East 59th Street, (212) 279-4200, 59e59.org, playco.org. (Saltz)